Advection-dominated Flows around Black Holes and the X-Ray Delay in the Outburst of GRO J1655-40

We show that the time delay between the optical and X-ray outbursts of the black hole soft X-ray transient source GRO J1655-40, observed in 1996 April, suggests that the accretion flow in this object must consist of two components: a cold outer accretion disk and an extremely hot inner advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). In quiescence, the model predicts a spectrum that is in good agreement with observations, with most of the observed radiation coming from the ADAF. By fitting the observed spectrum, we estimate the mass accretion rate of the quiescent system and the transition radius between the disk and the ADAF. We present a detailed numerical simulation of a dwarf nova-type instability in the outer disk. The resulting heat front reaches the ADAF cavity promptly; however, it must then propagate inward slowly on a viscous timescale, thereby delaying the onset of the X-ray flux. The model reproduces the observed optical and X-ray light curves of the 1996 April outburst, as well as the 6 day X-ray delay. Further, the model gives an independent estimate of the quiescent mass accretion rate that is in very good agreement with the rate estimated from fitting the quiescent spectrum. We show that a pure thin disk model without an ADAF zone requires significant tuning to explain the X-ray delay; moreover, such a model does not explain the quiescent X-ray emission of GRO J1655-40.